8 Hour First Aid Course For Those Involved In SportSunday 26 March 2006 9.00am - 5.00pm
The Caithness Sports Council is organising an 8 hour First Aid Course. The
course is being run by Highland Leisure Training from Inverness. The
course is aimed at people involved in sport. Places are limited to 12
individuals Cost: £20/individual (Caithness Sports Council Club Members)
The Caithness Sports Council is subsidising the cost of this course,
therefore grant aid applications from clubs will not be considered.
£40/individual (non Caithness Sports Council Club members) See Whats On
for contact details

Thurso High 1978 Reunion - Venue ChosenThe Thurso High School 1978 reunion will be held on Saturday 29th
July 2006 at the Park Hotel, Thurso. Timings and price of tickets to
follow. Send any school photos to
bill@caithness.org or let us know
which photos on the site already apply to your year so that we can link
them to the reunion page.

£489 MILLION BUDGET
RECOMMENDED FOR 2006-7
The Highland Council will be asked on Thursday (2 February) to confirm a
savings package of £18.7 million in setting a budget of £489 million for
2006-7. A report by Alan Geddes, Director of Finance, described the budget
outlook faced by the Council as the most challenging in recent years. The
level of savings needed to balance the budget were of a level previously
seen only in the early years of the Council in 1996. He forecast that the
Council would face an even more difficult budget outlook in 2007/8, which
highlighted the critical need to balance the budget in the new financial
year with sustainable savings.
See Proposed Budget Savings to be debated on 2 February at
Highland Council, Inverness on 2 February

Free Bus Travel In Scotland For Over 60's and Disabled People
Are you in the categories to get FREE bus travel in Scotland. In
2004 the Scottish Executive announced that from Spring 2006 FREE bus
travel would be available over the whole of Scotland for certain people.
the new scheme comes into force in April 2006 and now is the time top
make sure you are registered for the new bus pass to take you anywhere
in Scotland FREE of charge. In Highland phone 0845 7090202 and in
other places contact your local council offices. So now you can
visit us in Caithness or any other of the great Highland places
completely FREE if you live in Scotland and qualify for FREE travel.
Get registered now. Go on do it now - its the best offer
ever from the Scottish Parliament to the older people of Scotland.

Sunset At Dunnet Tonight As The Caithness Light Show Goes OnThanks
to Michael Draper for this photo of the sunset once again dominating the
skyline in the north and especially at Dunnet tonight. The cold
clear and crisp weather of the last few days seems to be creating the
perfect conditions for these fantastic sky scenes. With the frost
hardly lifting in some parts today the sunshine made up and then
followed by some fabulous views.

Wick
Finally Bucks The Unemployment Trend
Figures released for December show that Wick was the only one out of 17
areas in Highland and Islands to show a decrease dipping below 4% for
the first time in a very long time. Wick still remains one of the
highest unemployment areas in the region. Pulteneytown area
remains the highest percentage of ward areas in Caithness at 7.5% for
males (63) whilst only 3.1% (23) for females.

Story Telling
Feast For North Families
Families in Ross and Cromarty, Caithness, and Inverness will this
February have the opportunity to enjoy a variety of storytelling events
organised by Highland Council's Community Learning and Leisure Service.
Through funding from the Live Literature Scotland Scheme, Highland
Libraries have organised five family storytelling sessions "Stories For
All Ages" led by key Scottish poets, authors and storytellers. At
Thurso Library on Thursday, 9th February 9th at 2:00 pm, storyteller Bob
Pegg will weave weave music and song into his tales.

Let's Do the Show Right Here
The show recorded a few weeks ago at the Assembly Rooms, Wick in
connection with the memorial garden is to be broadcast on Friday 3
February at 11.30 AM on BBC Radio Scotland. If you cannot tune at
the time you cane use the Listen Again service online for up to a week.

Nice Yacht In Wick BayA
new visitor to Wick was the ketch "Hetairos" pictured here in Wick Bay
on Friday evening. Certainly nice to be sailing around the coast
in the beautiful weather we have been having recently. If "Wick
21" gets their marina built in Wick harbour we may expect to see many
more like this in future years. Thanks to George Campbell for
sending in the photo.

Piping
Recital on Saturday 4th February at 7.30pm
Pipe Band Hall, High Street, Wick. Featuring James MacLean, College of
Piping, Glasgow plus pupils of Wick RBLS Pipe Band. Admission costs £2
for adults, accompanied children are free. During the interval there
will be a raffle, the admission price include tea/coffee and biscuits

Catching Up With Ormlie AwardsWe
are only now catching up with some of the recent ORMLIE Community
Association awards. Just a couple of weeks ago the group were at
the BRA awards in London and shortly before that picked up an award at
the Dynamic Place Awards in Edinburgh. There can be no doubt about
the fact that the challenges set by this local group have had tremendous
results and they continue to thrive and bring more action into their
part of Thurso

Enterprising Couple Rearing Buffalo In CaithnessRebecca
Winkle and Graham Maharg run a croft at Scarfskerry and have pooled
their talents to operate a range of small enterprises under the name
Lotions And Potions. Beneath that title lies a varied list of
small enterprises including animals most of which are often to be found
in and around small farms and increasingly crofts in the Highlands. One
animal, the buffalo is very unusual for Caithness and raised a few
eyebrows but contrary to expectations is doing very well. The
buffalo line is originally from Bulgaria but these two have been born
and raised in Scotland. The buffalo have been at the croft for a couple
of years now and they are ready to mate and indeed have been in search
of a mate on some dark nights.

26 January 2006

Another Successful Bring And Buy At Hillhead
School, WickThe
Bring and Buy sale at Hillhead is organised and run by the Primary 7
pupils each year. All proceeds go towards the cost of the Primary 7 trip
to York. It is an important event in the diary of the pupils as for many
it is one of the first times they are free to purchase an item without
the guiding ideas of their parents. Bargains abound and you might always
find that special something. Few things sell for more than 20p. Money is
still trickling in but a final sum of around £340 is expected. Have a
look at some happy customers including pupils, staff and students.
Hillhead School Pages

Caithness to provide $139M in PILOT payments Should Caithness
Area Payments Be Higher?
Not here in Scotland folks but a power company in the USA which it to
make PILOT payments to the local community - PILOT Payments are
Payment In Lieu Of Taxes.
YAPHANK – The Long Island Power Authority announced a plan today under
which an energy company planning to build a power plant in Yaphank would
provide $139 million in payments in lieu of taxes to several Suffolk
jurisdictions. The 326-megawatt plant proposed by Manhattan-based
Caithness Long Island would be the first large, baseload power plant
built on Long Island since the creation of the Long Island Power
Authority, which so far has endorsed a series of smaller plants. The
plan calls for $139 million in PILOT payments over 20 years to
surrounding communities. The question for Caithness is "Are
Community Benefits in the Highlands set too low in this country and
should they apply to all power generation as well as wind farms and also
to water and other utilities that can have a significant effect on the
communities they are beside? Although PILOT payments are different, would
similar schemes be more beneficial to an area such as Caithness with a
nuclear power plant, increasing windfarms and potentially power from the
Pentland Firth to supply the rest of the UK. Like North Sea oil on
our doorstep will there be much more economic prosperity flowing away
without sufficient recompense to the local area. Any thoughts to
the Message Board
For more on PILOT Payments try
Google or
this article
PILOT payments: a potential revenue source for public libraries

Thurso Air Cadets Open DayThurso Air Cadets are holding an Open Day on Saturday 28th January, in
the Drill Hall, Princes Street, Thurso from 12 noon to 5 pm. It is open
to anyone who might be interested in becoming a cadet or an adult member
of staff. There is an "Air Cadet Challenge" for 12 - 16 years olds,
which includes 2 physical tasks, 2 dexterous tasks and 2 mental tasks,
and the winner will receive £50.

Playbox Playgroup, Wick Hekl A Wee Burns Supper Today
To-day Playbox playgroup, Wick held a burns supper for the 3 years
morning group to celebrate "Burns", Piper David Sutherland came and
played a few tunes on the pipes which all the children loved. Jane
Hamilton took along her fiddle and played a selection of reels and
highland dancer Bryony Munro danced the Pas de Basques. This was
followed by a traditional Burns snack of Haggis, neeps and tatties
washed down with Irn-Bru.
Playbox Playgroup

Better Ships Could Save £10m on Northern Isles Route, Says Napier ReportA report by Napier University's Maritime Research Group has branded
the ferries plying the sailing routes between Aberdeen and the Northern
Isles as "two of the most inefficient and environmentally-unfriendly
ships built in recent years". The criticism is contained in the report,
Future Options for Northern Isles Ferry Services, commissioned by the
Northern Maritime Corridor (NMC), to establish if improvements can be
made to the existing service. In the report Dr Alf Baird, Head of
the Maritime Research Group at Napier Transport Research Institute,
recommends that the existing four ships - operated by Northlink Ferries
- two passenger/car ships and two cargo ships - should be replaced by
two larger car/passenger/cargo ships.

Highland Cares
Project Exhibition of Photographs By Fin MacRae
Swanson Gallery, Thurso Friday 27 January - Wednesday 8 FebruaryThe Princess Royal Trust Highland Carers’ Project has put together
an exhibition of portraits of carers with Fin Macrae, the highly
regarded Highland photographer who has exhibited at the Scottish
National Portrait Gallery and The Victoria and Albert in London. The
exhibition, which opened at Strathpeffer Community Centre in December,
is now on tour around Highland region. It will be in the Swanson Gallery
in Thurso from Friday 27th January to Wednesday 8th February.

Burns Day Lunch At South School, Wick
Lunch time at South School, Wick today got the full Burns Day treatment
with haggis, shortbread and Burns songs. There was even a dram
although it was a glass of Irn Bru juice before the kids headed out to
the playground where the new Active Schools coordinator was around to
organise playground games. with all that haggis the kids were
raring to go. There were two sittings for lunch with the younger
children tucking in first followed by the older primary classes.
South School IndexBurns Links

Caithness Young Archaeologists
A new group for young folk between the ages of 8 and 16. If you
woudl like to find out more the first meeting for 2006 is this Saturday.
Enjoy the return of the sun with a Yuletide celebration at Spittal
Village Hall. Come, Join in and learn about the ways people celebrated
this festival in the past, with the food they ate from prehistory to
polytunnels. Meeting runs from 2pm - 3.30pm. Subs: £1 per member per
meeting £1.50 per family.
Caithness Archaeology

Big Garden Bird Watch With RSPB
The survey is very simple. All you need to do is watch your garden or
local park for an hour on either Saturday 28 or Sunday 29 January, note
down the birds you see and count the highest number of each species you
see at any one time in the hour (this avoids counting the same birds
twice.) You can submit your results via an easy online form. This
will be available from the RSPB web site from 28 January. A separate
Bird Watch for schools is also being carried out and any school can join
in and submit their results online.

Supermarket Competition Hots Up As ASDA Put in Planning Application
For New Thurso StoreIt was confirmed today that another new supermarket could be heading
to Caithness. This time ASDA have placed an outline planning
application at Wick for a new store extending to 2890 square metres.
The new store application also includes a petrol filling station and two
new roundabouts beside the Weigh Inn on the outskirts of Thurso.
further the application includes a new football pitch and pavilion for
the use of local community. the site is just past Pennyland Farm
on the opposite side from the Weigh Inn. A new access road in
addition to the two roundabouts would be constructed by the company.
Asda is subsidiiary of the American giant Wal-Mart.
Asda web siteMessage
Board Debate On New Store For Thurso

Freight Transport Association Say We Need A New Forth Bridge Now
As the Freight Transport Association representing transport operators
prepares to lobby transport minister Tavish Scott to make an early
decision on a second Forth Road Bridge operators in Caithness generally
agreed that restrictions on the use of the Forth Bridge would inevitably
affect their operating costs if they required to make longer journeys
via Stirling for shipping goods and livestock south. Effectively
most of the operators north of the Forth Bridge would probably see and
adverse rise in costs if the Forth Bridge were to be restricted
due to corrosion problems being highlighted. Although it is still
some years away according to experts the lead in time for a major new
bridge means decision are required sooner rather than later according to
the FTA. Note - The Forth Road Bridge was
opened on 4 September 1964 and Bill Fernie was there on that day and
walked across and back with hundreds of others who had come to see the
official opening by her majesty Queen Elizabeth. Bill said "Even
back then it was obvious even to us as teenagers that this was of
massive economic importance to Scotland and since then its use has
increased hugely. We walked over and underneath on the North
Queensferry side to gawp at the massive cables as where they entered
huge concrete structures in the ground to take the strain of the bridge"
Forth Bridges Web CamForth
Bridges Visitor CentreTraffic Numbers This could affect us all in the north.

Are
you interested in the environment?If you are interested in improving the environment then The
Caithness Countryside Ranger, Marina Swanson invites you to their AGM on
Thursday 2nd February at 7.30PM in the Nethercliff Hotel Wick. If you
are unable to attend the AGM but are interested in future events and
projects contact Marina on 01955 607758.

WE'D LIKE TO BEAT THE BIKE - Daily Record
ANGRY campaigners last night begged ministers to sort out a Highland
train service that's slower than a pushbike. The train from
Inverness to Thurso and Wick takes four hours to cover 175 miles. And on
one stretch of the route, between Golspie and Tain, a group of cyclists
once beat the train by 11 minutes. The train has to make its way around
the Dornoch Firth, a distance of 45 miles, to reach Tain from Golspie.
But because the firth is spanned by a road bridge, the cyclists only had
to go 17 miles. The Association of Caithness Community Councils has now
appealed to the Parliament's petitions committee, asking for a Dornoch
Firth rail bridge and other major improvements.
Rail Future Scotland Campaign IssuesThe Far North
Line

FREE Property Pages Given A Makeover
The property pages just got even better. They work even faster and
instead of one long page they are now in neat pages of 10 properties to
a page. Scroll through them using the next page or previous page
buttons or choose a page number. Currently there are over 70 properties
taking advantage of our FREE entries. Selling property has
probably never been cheaper than this unless you know someone who will
pay you to advertise. Now there's a thought!!! You
think we are joking!!! Keep watching till we come up with how to
make that one work. Meantime if you are selling property in
Caithness make sure its on here. You can do it in minutes and
reach a large and growing number of folk looking on Caithness.org
And don't forget Rented Property or
Commercial Property To RentSubmit
Property For Sale Or
Rent

A FREE Calendar For Any
Month Any Time You Need It From Caithness.orgSomething you might need from time to time - a calendar for any month of
2006. You can print a plain no frills calendar with empty boxes
and a large notes space either in portrait style or landscape -
whichever suits your needs best. If you just need it to scribble
or plan something and throw away print on any A4 paper. If you
want something more sturdy try some thin card. We have provided
the full 12 months with a photo if you do not need the notes space and
it's in black and white to save your printer ink. We will think of
something better for next year and have it ready sooner. If you
have any old scrap paper printed only on one side you can reuse it for
the calendar and save money. Find it in the
Site Map
listing any time or if you can remember its easy URL address
www.caithness.org/calendar

A
Letter From Sir Digby Jones, Director General Of The CBIDear Editor
I will be spending 24 March 2006 working in the post room. I am doing
this because my staff has pulled together and are sponsoring me to spend
the day sorting through their letters and packages. I will need to roll
up my sleeves and get on with my postal duties in aid of Marie Curie
Cancer Care's brand new initiative, Back to the Shop Floor. As a
supporter of Marie Curie Cancer Care, I am calling on you senior staff
across the UK to take part in this fundraising initiative and to spend
the day doing a job you don't normally do. You could work behind a till,
be the tea girl or the post man... the opportunities are endless.

More Good News For WickFigures Show Busy December 2005 for
North Airports
Wick Passengers December 2005 2352 compared to 1676 December 2004 a 40%
increase.The total number of passengers using airports in the Highlands and
Islands increased by 20% in December compared to the previous year,
according to figures released by Highlands and Islands Airports Limited. A total of 87,795
passengers used the company’s 10 airports in the month compared to
73,038 in December 2004. The airports which
showed the greatest gains in the month were: Inverness (+28%); Islay
(+22.4%); Sumburgh (+24.3%) and Wick (+40.3%). Angela
Donaldson the Wick airport manager confirmed that December had been an
excellent month with the increase in passenger traffic being due to
increased flights available from Eastern Airways, a rise in the number
of passengers in transit and increased refuelling and helicopter crew
training for the oil industry. the recently added early morning
flight leaving at 7.00am had proved very popular with business
passengers. This means the first flight out is at 7.00am and the
last flight in is at 8.30pm giving better timetable than previously.
Flying Index

HIGHLAND MSP PRESSES MINISTER IN PARLIAMENT
ON BROADBAND COVERAGEHighlands
and Islands Labour MSP Maureen Macmillan has questioned Nicol Stephen,
the Minister with responsibility for Communications, on what steps the
Scottish Executive is taking to provide solutions to the clusters of
households that are still out of reach of broadband. Mrs Macmillan said,
"I have had regular contact from constituents who are still unable to
access broadband technology and questioned the Minister, in parliament,
on what solutions were being considered. In his response he pointed out
that Scotland now has 99.7% access to broadband with broadband delivered
to 378 remote and rural telephone exchanges. This is no consolation,
however, for those still trying to receive the technology and I pressed
the Minister on a timescale for delivering broadband to the remaining
areas.Sam Knows -
A web site to check coverage and more

Highland
Schools Go For Big Heart Day - 8 February 2006Pupils
at primary and secondary schools in the Highlands are gearing up to raise
thousands of pounds to help communities and young people across the world
who are trying to re-build their lives following the devastation caused by
last year's Asian tsunami. In February last year, all Highland
schools were involved in raising money for the victims of the Asian
tsunami. The successful Big Heart Day Highland 2005 raised a total of
£65,301 for the appeal. However, one year on from the disaster, many of
the tsunami affected areas still have a lot of work to be done to help
people regain livelihoods, homes, health, education and community life.

23 January 2006

Highland Cultural Pledge To Children
In £1.5 Million Initiative
Every school pupil in Highland will be given
the chance to participate in a cultural
activity during 2007 as part of a cultural
pledge being made by The Highland Council in
celebrating Highland 2007 - the year
Scotland celebrates Highland culture.
Teachers and Community Learning and Leisure
staff will be working with Pupil Councils to
identify a range of topics and potential
activities which might form part of the
Pledge to the 31,000 Highland pupils.
£1 million in-kind "mainstream" support has
been allocated from the Council to the
Pledge. In addition £500,000 has been
allocated in cash from the Highland 2007
budget, allowing for an average of £17,500
to be allocated per community school
cluster. Sponsorship is currently being
sought to boost this figure.

What's On Ads - Please Note You Require To
Enter Contact DetailsTo ensure an ad in the What's On is
passed by us for entry we need to know that
it is genuine. Therefor you should ensure a
phone number or email address is available
for contact. This not required if you
have made arrangements with us for ads.
An ad for Car Boot Sale recently was not
entered as there were no contact details.
Great interaction - Update - Car Boot Sale Now On
- cheers from the Caithness.org Team

Message Board
Broke The Record Again For Most Users Online At One TimeAt 10:19pm last night the Message Board had 183 users on all at one time.
Throughout the day the number of visitors to the message board is huge.
Ask questions, sell almost anything, Debate issues or just have a laugh.
Its growing all the time and with 2628 members and 5,743 topics to
choose from with posts now passing 49,021. Never been in yet?
Then take look - It will soon be bigger than the rest of the web site at
this rate. Just read the
Forum rules before you join.
How many clubs in Caithness do you know that have over 100 members turning
up every night of the week. Got an interesting topic to debate then
put it in here and see what everyone else thinks.

22 January 2006

Calling Local Caithness Artists, Sculptors, Photographers Etc
Get some samples of your work in our Galleries. Just email as many
samples as you want and we will add them to the Arts Galleries and these
in turn can be linked to your free page in the Arts index. We are
now adding more features to the Arts Index pages so now is a good time to
add more to the galleries for direct linking to your page for anyone
browsing the galleries to see with a link back to you on every page with
sample of your work. Email samples to
bill@caithness.org

A FREE Dram of Old Pulteney On Burns DayThe
Park Hotel, Thursois giving a FREE dram of Old
Pulteney on Burns Day 25th January to all customers ordering a two
course meal from the special Scottish menu.

Wick High Reunion 54 - 56
Another reunion five years after the
last one we ran on the
web site for this group. Janis Paterson has sent in the first list
to update everyone as to who has said they are going on 21 July this year.

New Dog Warden
For Caithness
If you have worries or complaints about dogs in Caithness a new dog warden
is waiting to hear from you. The dog warden is a service supplied by
Highland Council and is based in Wick. A link to the Dog Warden
number can now be found in the
Environment Index and the
Pets Corner

Save Neuro-Surgery
At Aberdeen - Petition Now At 8041 At 9.15am UK Time
People from all over Scotland may soon be expected to travel to Glasgow
and for those in the north of Scotland extra travelling and expense not to
mention the sheer inconvenience for patients and relatives. Yet again a
small group has set it itself to take on the health authorities and the
Scottish Executive. More details and a petition to sign at
www.brainhelp.co.uk against the
merger of the neurosurgical units in Scotland. The government are
proposing a merger and it looks like the proposed closure of the unit in
Aberdeen Royal Infirmary with neurosurgery being centralised in Glasgow.
Organisers for the campaign said "It is vitally important for the sake of
the geographical area which Aberdeen serves that we push to keep the
service open." Caithness.org has been contacted by people
who regard this service as having been vital to their families and once
again geography is a factor.

North Action Group Maternity CampaignThe fight to save the consultant led service at Caithness General
appears to have been won, however the committee of North Action group are
still holding committee meetings. At their latest meeting one of
many after two years of campaigning the members heard from Chairman George
Bruce that it was greed at the Maternity Action Team set up by NHS
highland to cease the process of small groups looking for another solution
now that a decision to retain 3 consultants had been taken. The next
meting of North Action Group will be in two months to reflect on how the
recruitment process is going. A section on the maternity unit can be
found on the
Message Board

21 January 2006

Traditional
Music Workshop - Halkirk - 18th February 2006
Gordon Gunn and Co are setting out to run another Traditional Music Day.
This time the venue is the Ross Institute at Halkirk. At the end of
the day a dance will be run at the hall to give the musicians a chance to
try out their skills wtih dancer in front of them. If you are
interested in improving your techniques or just want the chance to join
with professional musicians for the day then head over and get an
application form sent off. For the rest of you watch out for the ads
for the dance at night on the 18 February - it should be a good one.

Thurso Rotary Club Burns Supper
The Rotary Club of Thurso Burns Supper is one of the premier events on the
west side of the county. It is always a sell out with over 100 attending
this year in the Pentland Hotel. The speakers, and indeed the whole event,
was up to usual high standard with some performance that can only be
described as superb. Ken Murphy gave an enthralling note free immortal
memory, one of the best ever heard by regular supper goers. Rotarian James
Campbell toasted the lassies with his customary humour and Celia McDougall
replied in similar fashion. The address to the haggis was performed with
gusto and superb delivery by Alan Sparling. The singing of Mod Gold
medalist Raymond Bremner was outstanding as was a contribution from Celia
McDougall. Alan Plowman was piper for the evening and there cannot be many
as skillful in the county. The Rotary Club always have Thurso Round Table
members as their guests at this function and their Chairman has the duty
of getting the evening off to a good start with the Selkirk Grace and
Michael Dunnett certainly performed his task with confidence. The evening
was rounded off with community singing and a fine vote of thanks by
Rotarian John Hook. Finally a report would not be complete without mention
of the significant contribution made to the evening by Rotary
Vice-President Murray Campbell who chaired the supper. His chairmanship
was excellent and humorous and interspersed with authoritative
interjections, in keeping with his position as an top grade football
referee, when the audience became more than enthusiastic as the evening
wore on.
Thurso Rotary ClubRobert Burns
LinksBurns StyleJenny Stewart On Burns -
Haggis HeuchsE Moose & To A MouseReply Till E ToastA Letter From Robert Burns To Sir John Sinclair - 1790Burns Supper At Dale House A Couple Of Years Ago Burns At Hillhead 2005 Send in more Burns night photos
for the galleries to
bill@caithness.org

20 January 2006

Thurso Eateries Set Out To Serve A Feast Of Offers
Has anyone noticed the rush of special offers and new deals, entertainment
while you eat breaking out in Thurso. We have and the examples are
piling up of what great deal might be had by eating out in Thurso in
coming weeks - Here are some we have noted already -
Pentland Hotel
offering FREE glasses of wine with all pizzas tonight (Friday) -
Royal Hotel offering
buy one get one free bar meals and the Park has just
announced that starting on Sunday 29th that the last Sunday of each month
will be Easy
SundaY with jazz bands laying on free music. Billed as
relaxing day encouraging you to read the Sunday papers and have your
Sunday roast for the pretty good price of £7.95.

Wildlife Also Features In The Caithness Field Club Outings
We are on a roll today looking at chances to see wildlife in the far
north. the opportunities are many and varied. The local
Caithness field Club takes in wildlife on their walks that are usually
fairly leisurely. This year there are chances to visit a few new
places to look at wildlife but also mixed with other features like
archaeology. The group are still in the middle of their winter
programme and visitors are always welcome.

Highland Wild Encounters 2006 - A Chance To See Wildlife With Experts 21
May - 4 JuneThe far north
of Scotland has an incredible variety of wildlife but you may take while
to find it. what better way to see what is around than to take walk
or a trip with an expert. The walks are all graded from easy
to difficult on the web site. Some need to be booked and paid for in
advance and the days are getting more popular each year so book early.
If you are planning a trip to Caithness or Sutherland these days out will
make a very relaxing and interesting way to spend some time in the north.
check it out and put the dates in your diary.

Watch Our Wildlife - WinterThanks
to SNH and the Ranger service for this latest guide to wildlife in the
north of Scotland. There is more wildlife around than you might
expect and you will probably see a different aspect of the area every time
you go out. But remember for all its spectacular scenery this is the
north of Scotland and in winter you must make sure you carry the correct
gear and wear warm and waterproof clothing and tell someone where you are
going. Nature

Campaign for a Scottish Internet Domain -
dotScoHere
is an interesting campaign that you might like to lend support to.
Is it time for Scotland to have its own .SCO internet domain. If you
would like to support the campaign all you have to do is send supportive
email to them. Already many businesses and well known figures have
sent their support. As you might expect we here at Caithness.org
have sent our support and hope one day to be linking to lots of Scottish
web sites such as
www.yeswehaveourowndomain.sco

Wick Senior Citizens Annual Treat- -This Year Had A World War Two Theme
The 60th anniversary of the end of World War Two was the theme this year
for the annual Wick Senior Citizens Treat. The dinner is followed by
entertainment provided this year by Isobel and Addie Harper, Wick RBLS
Pipe Band and the choir from Wick Old Parish church leading the singing of
songs from WW2. A huge array of volunteers help out including many
individuals, sixth year girls from Wick high school and Wick Rotary club
members who supply transport to and from the event for anyone who requires
it. The committee led by chairman Thomas Mackay do a sterling job in
fund raising throughout the year and are well supported by a huge range of
local Wick businesses and organisations. The event is free to any
senior citizen in the area. A great night that shows the huge
community spirit that still exists in Wick. Well done to everyone
for another great night.

Gibson questions Lord Advocate over Skye Bridge
Tolls
'An unsatisfactory response which will require more questions' was how
Highlands and Islands SNP MSP Rob Gibson greeted the response to his
question from the Scottish Executive on the Skye Bridge Tolls. Mr
Gibson (himself fined for non payment during the anti tolls campaign)
asked Lord Advocate Colin Boyd QC whether the legality of the Skye Bridge
contract documents and subsequent prosecutions can be established beyond
doubt, in light of recent comments by the former Procurator Fiscal at
Dingwall.

First Minister Questioned on NHS Dentistry
Mary Scanlon MSP today questioned the First Minister on the future of NHS
dentistry funding. With almost a third of dental practices failing
to qualify for a new allowances scheme, the First Minister failed to
provide assurance that he would intervene in order to ensure a new
contract negotiated in the best interests of patients, declaring; 'no
group has a veto over the decisions of the Parliament or this Executive.'

ARBUTHNOTT COMMISSION REPORT PUTS CITIZENS FIRST
The Commission on Boundary Differences and Voting Systems (the Arbuthnott
Commission) today published its report, “Putting Citizens First:
Boundaries, Voting and Representation in Scotland”. The report is a result
of an 18 month inquiry by this independent commission, which was
established by the Secretary of State for Scotland, Alistair Darling, to
consider the consequences of having four separate voting systems for
elections in Scotland and also different boundaries for Holyrood and
Westminster constituencies.Multi Member wards are due to replace the current system of
local council representation from the next elections in May 2007.
Caithness will have three wards Wick, Thurso and Landward Central with 3
councillors for Wick and Thurso and 4 for Caithness Landward. The
Single Transferrable Voting system will apply and all voters will be able
to vote for more than one candidate listing their choices in order of
preference. Basically this means that if your first choice of
councillor does not get elected your vote will still count towards the
second in your list and so on. Clear?.... We thought so but it will
be hopefully by the time it has been blasted all over the TV, leaflets and
so on as we get nearer the elections next year. Same number of
councillors and voters will have a better say in who gets elected under
the new set up.

Appeal Goes Out
To Save Neuro-Surgery At Aberdeen As Closure Looms
People from all over Scotland may soon be expected to travel to Glasgow
and for those in the north of Scotland extra travelling and expense not to
mention the sheer inconvenience for patients and relatives. Yet
again a small group has set it itself to take on the health authorities
and the Scottish Executive. More details and a petition to sign at
www.brainhelp.co.uk against the
merger of the neurosurgical units in Scotland. The government are
proposing a merger and it looks like the proposed closure of the unit in
Aberdeen Royal Infirmary with neurosurgery being centralised in Glasgow.
Organisers for the campaign said "It is vitally important for the sake of the geographical area which
Aberdeen serves that we push to keep the service open." On
Caithness.org we recently
ran a link for the Nathan Warmack kilt petition and numbers soared on that
site. Let's see what we can do for the Neuro-Surgery at Aberdeen that
serves the whole of the north of Scotland and the islands.
Signatures stand at 7988 as at 2.48pm UK time.

OUT AND ABOUT WITH THE CAITHNESS CRITTERS - Loch Mey Bird
WatchingThe
first meeting of the year for the Caithness Critters took place last
Sunday. The wildlife loving youngsters turned out to brave the harsh
winds and cold temperatures to take part in a bird watch at the Loch of
Mey. The children spotted and recorded a range of bird species and
practiced their identification skills with pictures and bird sounds in the
hide. Bird Watching
Caithness Critters is run by the
Ranger Service in Caithness

Orkney by Air - a photographic journey through
time - Guy WarnerOrkney
by Air is a photographic record of aviation in the Orkney Islands from the
first flights by Ted Fresson through to the twenty-first century. It is
accompanied by historical narrative. A well written history of air travel
in Orkney from the beginning in 1931 to the newest air terminal in 2002.
Covering a range of information in a non technical form with enough detail
to be interesting but not bogged down in it. A high readable book
that will be of interest to anyone whether in aviation or as part of the
modern history of Orkney.Caithness.org Book
Shop

Caithness Farmer In Line
For
Biodiversity AwardDanny Miller who farms at Bilbster is
one of the five finalists in line to win the
NFU Scotland Farmland Biodiversity Award.
The NFU Scotland Farmland Biodiversity
Award, sponsored by RSPB Scotland, was
established six years ago. The Award aims
to recognise and reward farmers or crofters
whose contributions have benefited priority
species or habitats as defined by RSPB
Scotland and the Scottish Biodiversity
Strategy. Danny farms almost 1300 hectares
at Wick in Caithness. The key
achievement he cites since embarking on his
work towards biodiversity is the return of
grey partridge to the farm, as well as
increasing numbers of brown hare and huge
numbers of swallows and bats.
Biodiversity Pages

The Celtic Fringe - Guardian Online
There is a curious trend apparent in the
history of the Lib Dem leadership.
Caithness gets a mention in the shape of Sir
Archibald Sinclair as David McKie reflects
on the Scottish and Welsh connections with
the Liberals as the current Libdem
leadership contest moves on.

18 January 2006

Another Salvation Army Photo From Thurso
about 1936Thanks
to Raymond Bryson for sending this second
photo thought to be a year earlier than the
one from yesterday. Raymond's father
is in this photo also in the back row far
left. Perhaps someone can identify the
others and let a few Thurso folk see their
grandfathers

17 January 2006

THANKS TO CAITHNESS & SUTHERLAND MATERNITY
ACTION TEAMThe Caithness & Sutherland Maternity
Action Team, meeting in Wick on Friday 13th
January, unanimously welcomed NHS Highland’s
decision to seek to appoint three
substantive consultants to maintain and
develop the service. It was agreed that
this brought the work of C&SMAT to an end
and co-chairs David Alston and George Bruce
thanked all who had participated in the
process.

Next Meeting Of North Action Group
Thursday 19 January 2006 7.00pm at Assembly Rooms WickAlthough the maternity issue seems to be resolved the North Action
Group who have fought for two years to retain a consultant led maternity
service decided they would not dissolve until the obstetricians for the
unit were actually in place.

FIFTH MEETING OF DOUNREAY STAKEHOLDER GROUP
The Dounreay Stakeholder Group meeting will
be held on Wednesday 18th January at 7.00pm
in the Pentland Hotel, Thurso when business
will include a presentation on UKAEA's
proposed new low level waste facility.
Members of the public and media are invited
to attend and there will be an opportunity
to raise questions. The agenda and relevant
paperwork can be found at
http://www.dounreaystakeholdergroup.org
The establishment of the stakeholder groups
reflects a founding principle of the Nuclear
Decommissioning Authority (NDA) to
decommission sites in a way that it is open
and transparent.

Renal Unit To Expand
In Five Months At Caithness General Hospital
In WickTraining is expected to start over the
next five months to enable an extra three
members of staff at Caithness General to
treat up to 16 patients who require renal
dyalysis locally. This will be of great
benefit to the people in Caithness and
Sutherland who are currently travelling to
Raigmore three times a week for treatment.
Pauline Craw, Assistant General Manager at
Caithness General said: “This new service
will have a huge impact on the people and
their families who at the moment have to
travel the 240 mile journey to Inverness and
back three times a week. Many families
have reported in the past that they worry
about their loved ones travelling in all
weather conditions when often they are not
feeling in the best of health.
The extra three members of staff are
undergoing a five month training programme,
after which the Renal Dyalysis service will
be operational locally to an extra four
patients per week.” Renal Dyalysis is one of
the treatments that can be safely delivered
in smaller acute hospitals.

Map Reading WeekendThe
army Cadets carried out a map reading
weekend on the 14th and 15th January. All
the Cadets worked hard, and found some of
the problems not only of navigating, but
also simply moving, at night. Daytime
navigation skills were also tested and all
the cadets came away having learned and
passed something. The picture shows Cdt JJ
Munro, LCpl Gregor Maclean and LCpl Niall
Hornidge working out bearings and grid
references for the outdoor navigation
exercise.Army Cadet Force Index

Atomic Energy Agency signs deal with private
firms to bid for nuclear clean-ups -
Guardian
Guardian Unlimited speculating about UKAEA's
chosen partners for new Alliiance - "But the
choice of the two has raised some eyebrows.
Amec has recently been the subject of
takeover speculation while CH2M Hill was at
the centre of a row in US Congress.
The American company and a partner were
awarded a $28.5m (£16m) contract to oversee
the US-led $1.7bn public works and water
construction projects in Iraq, only for
politicians to point out that some of the
firms it was monitoring were partners in
other schemes elsewhere."

16 January 2006

Highland Council Aims To Get All Children
Swimming Before They Start Secondary SchoolA report to the Education committee of
Highland Council shows the number of
children getting lessons and how many cannot
swim at present. Whilst the numbers
are good the council is aiming rto get every
child swimming by the time they leave
primary school. There is circulated
Report No
ECS15/06 by the Director of
Education, Culture and Sport, concerning the
request for a report made at the Committee’s
meeting on 22 September 2005, providing
information on schools providing swimming
lessons and pupils who can swim by the end
of Primary school. The report also
recommends action that will ensure that
almost all children in Highland start
secondary school being able to swim.
Full Education Committee Agenda 19 January
2006

Roxburgh Road, WickThree
new photos of Roxburgh Road, Wick taken on
31 December 2005. Only when adding
them to the web site did we notice that the
two already on the site were taken exactly
four years earlier on 31 December 2001.
Both days were bright and sunny but in 2001
it had been snowing.

Salvation Army Band - Thurso About 1937Another
early photo sent in by Raymond Bryson whose
father is in the photo. Raymond said,
"Salvation Army Band, Riverside, Thurso, and
the year is estimated to be 1937 (+/-1
year). This is based on the fact that my
father, Andrew Bryson, far left of picture,
looks about 12-13 years old. He was born in
1922. I have no information on others in the
picture apart from Captain and Mrs Raine who
are standing either side of the doorway."

UKAEA Goes Into An Alliance To Prepare
For Decommissioning Contracts In 2008The United Kingdom Atomic Energy
Authority (UKAEA), AMEC plc and CH2M HILL
have formed an important new alliance to
target opportunities in the UK’s £56 billion
(£2bn a year) nuclear clean up market. The
alliance heralds the start of an open and
competitive market in UK civil nuclear
decommissioning and responds to the
government’s landmark decision to open this
market to competition. The alliance will
initially target selected sites among the
UK’s 20 civil nuclear sites which are now
being opened to competition by the Nuclear
Decommissioning Authority (NDA). Around half
of these are expected to be bid by the end
of 2008. Beyond this market, the partners
will explore further international
opportunities such as the multi-billion
pound market in Eastern Europe and the
Former Soviet Union, building on the
alliance partners’ experience in these
regions.

Reay
School Photos 1933 - Names Now InWe
never cease to be surprised at the information that eventually comes in
even for an older photo such as this one from Reay sent in by Katrina
Kirkpatrick on 29 October 2005. James Sutherland has now sent in
information from Jessie Mackay (nee Douglass and John Forbes both of whom
are in the photo. thanks to them for sending the details in.

EXCLUSIVE: TWINTY THREE - Daily Record
ANOTHER school has scored double figures in the twins test. St Aloysius
Primary in Chapelhall have trumped their Caithness rivals. Just days
after Mount Pleasant school in Thurso was reported as breaking the records
of Liverpool school for number of twins another school has taken the
record. Ach weel there is always next year.

14 January 2006

The Great Eggcase HuntThere are more than 14 different species of Skate & Ray around the
British Isles. Many of these cartilaginous fish, related to Sharks, are
in decline. Orkney has reported to
the Shark Trust that they have some very large eggcases and after a
comparison of them with several museums, it is firmly believed that they
belong to the Common Skate which is rare nowadays although years ago was
a common site (they can grow up to 3m in length!)
There are two Eggcase hunts being organised - Strathy beach on Saturday 15th April and then Sunday the 16th
April I will be on Dunnet Beach.

Inward Investment In
Caithness ContinuesMajor New Commercial Development At Forss Looks To The FutureOn
18 November 2005 Abbey Properties Cambridgeshire Limited gained an outline
planning consent for development on the former mast site US naval base,
Forss, Thurso. The brown field site comprises 126 acres (gross) and is
located adjacent to Forss Technology Park and close to Dounreay which is
due to undergo a £2.6 billion decommissioning programme in the future. The
outline planning consent, applied on a significant part of the site,
provides for the development of a mixed use scheme on the site as well as
new roads and services that may be associated with any development.
The site will provide a mixed use of buildings including industrial and
warehouse, office, and research and development buildings as well as
accommodation. A spokesman for Abbey Properties Cambridgeshire Limited
stated that “this planning consent is good news for the area as it will
allow for future commercial development and increased employment. It is
also in an excellent location to provide services to sites and buildings
for companies that may be involved with the decommissioning of Dounreay.”

Full Funding Package
Over £3.5 Million In Place For Caithness
Horizons in ThursoCaithness Horizons has been awarded the final phase of its crucial capital
funding package allowing work to begin within the next few months. The Highlands and Islands
Partnership Programme (HIPP), which administers EU funds for the region,
has announced its support for the redevelopment of Thurso Town Hall, with
a contribution of £100,000 from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
Dennis Malone, Chief Executive of HIPP, said: “I am delighted that ERDF
has been able to make a financial contribution to one of the most exciting
projects in Caithness and I am confident that the investment will deliver
significant benefits for the area.” According to the business plan
work is due to start in the next few months with completion of the
building in late 2007 and opening in 2008.

12 January 2006

Message Board Breaks Another Record With 157
Folk Online at 8.13pm
With over 5,500 and over 46,000 messages
posted by over 2500 members and many more
folk reading them this is busy place most
evenings. There are now folk on
Caithness .org at any time of the day or
night from somewhere around the world.
Busiest times are in the evening UK time and
less in the early hour of the morning.
If you have something to say or just want to
read what others are saying then check out
the Message Board.

Deputy First Minister Opens UK's Biggest
Windfarm Deputy First Minister Nicol Stephen
today (13 January 2006) officially opens the
UK's largest wind project - ScottishPower's
Black Law windfarm near Forth in South
Lanarkshire. Black Law marks a major
change in the scale of ScottishPower's
renewable business with the project almost
doubling the company's wind power capacity
and making it the largest wind power
generator in the UK. The £90 million windfarm
delivers an output of 97MW from 42 turbines
- enough clean green energy to power 70,000
homes. It will also reduce emissions of
carbon dioxide by a massive 200,000 tonnes
each year.Current Wind Farm Applications For Highland
As At December 2005
Potential 259 turbines for Caithness with
over 660MW of capacity enough for over
400,000 homes if they were all built.
Whilst not all of these wind farms may be
built there are certainly others not listed
but under consideration by a whole range of
farmers, landowners and community groups.
The potential for carbon dioxide emissions
being reduced is huge.
News that the large companies want to use
compulsory purchase orders for
laying of cables and for acquiring land for
building turbines is sure to keep the pot
boiling.

COUNCIL INVITED TO GIVE EVIDENCE ON GAELIC
A delegation from The Highland Council's
Gaelic Select Committee will give evidence
at a meeting of the Committee of Experts of
the Regional and Minority Languages Charter.
The European Charter for Regional or
Minority Languages was drawn up in 1992 by
the Council of Europe to help promote
Europe's lesser used languages. The UK
Government signed the Charter in 2000 and
ratified it in 2001 in respect of Scottish
Gaelic, Irish Gaelic in Northern Ireland and
Welsh.

GRANTS FOR PLANTING TREES
The Tree Council, a national charity that
promotes the planting and conservation of
trees in town and countryside has two grant
schemes available for 2006. These are the
Trees for Schools Fund and the Communities
Tree Fund. Under these funds grants of up to
£700 are available both to schools and
community groups.

Calling Arts Groups To Check Out New Funding
Source
Clore Duffield foundation Is offering
grants of up to £10,000. The
programme aims to support performing arts
education activities for young people (aged
0 - 18) across the UK.
The programme runs for five yearsuntil 2010.

Caravan Club Gets Permission To Extend
Dunnet Caravan Site
The Caravan Club has been granted
planning permission for Alterations and
extension to reception area, erection of
wardens toilet block and mains room, extend
site from 40 pitches to 55 pitches, install
new foul drainage connection

Planning Permission For Illuminated Signs
At New Argos Store, WickAs the new shopping complex to include
Homebase and Argos moves on other steps are
gradually being put in place towards the
opening of the new stores. The current
owners of the property A & R Properties,
Avebury, Central Milton Keynes were the
applicants. See Latest Caithness
Planning Applications Passed
Here See current and
earlier applications
Here

GREENING THE COUNCIL
A five-year plan to "green" the energy
use of The Highland Council has set
challenging targets for all staff and an
ambitious programme of energy saving
measures in the Council’s top 100
energy-consuming buildings. Before 2010, the
Council wants to: - Reduce energy use by
15%; Avoid £3.8 million in energy costs;
Reduce carbon emissions from Council
buildings by a minimum of 15%; and Increase
the installed capacity of renewable energy
equipment by a minimum of 4,000 kilowatts.
Like householders the council has seen a
huge increase in energy prices and is trying
to take steps to tackle the problem. Between 2003-2004 and 2004-2005, the Council’s energy
bill rose by 20% to £5.2 million and the expectation is that it will
increase by a further £1.835 million in the current financial year and a
further £1.858 million in 2006-2007.

Rural Sub Post Offices - John Thurso MP Involved In Yesterdays Debate In
At Westminster
This link will take you to Hansard (the record of what is said in the
house of Commons) the debate yesterday about Rural Sub Post offices where
our MP John Thurso was adding some interesting points along with other
MP's on this issue crucial to some of our local Caithness communities.
And if you wonder how we keep up with it all you can do it via a very
helpful web site we use
They Work For
You You can request updates on any MP so that any time they
speak on a topic you can be notified by email. Whilst most of it may
not be of interest it does show the massive amounts of detail MP's etc
have to cope with.

Learn to Canoe
- Try It TonightYes we know it's
winter but lots of clubs are actively gearing for the better weather.
If the diving below the water is not for you as yesterdays ad how about on
top of it. From 6.30pm - 8.00pm from tonight you can learn all about
canoeing in the Thurso Swimming Pool.
Pentland Canoe Club will have people on hand to tell you
all about it and let you have a go under supervision. Getting ready
over the next few weeks will prepare you for getting out on the water in
coming months for fun and fitness not to mention seeing some of the
countryside and coast from a different angle.

For
Young Folk Interested In Nature - Caithness CrittersThe Caithness Critters is a local
children's nature group run by the Highland Council Ranger Service.
The club is open to children aged 8 to 14 with an interest in wildlife &
the environment. The club meets on a regular basis & aims to
encourage greater appreciation for the environment and wildlife by raising
awareness at an early age. The Critters Club membership is currently open
as some of the older members have moved on. the group is run by the
Ranger service. Contact Marina Swanson at the Ranger Office in Wick

Ever Wanted To
Try Skuba Diving? - Now's Your ChanceYes you can and all
in the comfort of Thurso swimming pool next week under the expert eye of
members of Caithness Diving Club. If you have never been underwater
for more than the length of one breath get along and try this out.
After the try out you can be getting more experience, training and
certificates and enjoying this great sport. Don't just watch it on TV
try it out next week.

Nathan Warmack Receives Apology Over Kilt
The apology by Jackson High Has Flashed Around the WorldThe Petition gained almost 12,000 signatures asking that Nathan
be allowed to wear his kilt at school events after a ban. the story
attracted worldwide attention after members of Clan Gunn started a
petition to get the Jackson High school dress code changes to allow Nathan
to wear his kilt. Now it looks as if the school will allow all
national dress to be worn at formal occasions.
Rob Gibson MSP
Comments

More Early Caithness PhotosAnother
couple of early photos for the gallery. A McEwans coal
truck in a Wick Gala and William Gunn and a McEwans coal horse.
If you can help date these photos then let us know. If you
would like to add to the galleries with an old photo send it to
bill@caithness.org

Graham
Maharg From Scarfskerry Launches First AlbumGraham
MacHarg and his family live on croft at Scarfskerry.
Graham has now produced his first album in cooperation with
Addie Harper Jr on guitars. Graham sings and supplies the
keyboard backing for his songs which have a haunting
characteristic and make for easy listening curled up with a
glass of wine or a wee dram on cold Caithness night.

Wanton Vandalism Of New Bench Seats At
Lybster Condemned By Local PeopleVandalism which occurred to newly erected seats in the playpark
at the back of Mowat Place has been condemned by local people as
wanton. These seats were donated to the community by the
Community Council at the request of a number of young mothers
and the cost came to £250. The seats were erected on Hogmanay
and lasted until the following Saturday evening! Enquiries
are on-going with the police and there is a chance that the
culprits will be apprehended. Anyone with information on this
matter is urged to contact the Police either in the village or
Wick.

EARLY YEARS
REVIEW – CAITHNESSMembers
of The Highland Council’s Caithness Area Committee met on Monday
with officials and voluntary sector partners to look at the
vision for early years services in the County. They
considered the local concerns from some communities about the
possible loss of local pre-school provision. Caithness
Children's Champion, Councillor Bill Fernie said: “This is about
improving services, and ensuring that they are viable into the
longer term. We face a number of challenges at a time of falling
nursery populations, but we recognise the need to make sure our
Caithness communities remain family-friendly. We have some ideas
that we wish to discuss with local parents, about how we can
jointly make sure we sustain services that are at the heart of
community life."

Highland Pupils to Benefit From Active
Schools CoordinatorsTwenty
seven new “Active Schools Coordinators” were
welcomed into their new active lifestyle
promoting roles in Highland primary schools
by the Chairman of The Highland Council’s
Education Culture and Sport Committee and
the Chief Executive of sportscotland.
Highland Councillor Andrew Anderson and
Stewart Harris, Chief Executive of
sportscotland welcomed the new Active
Schools Coordinators (Primary) today at
Inverness Leisure along with Highland
Council members and staff, NHS Highland
health promotion and public health lead
managers. Funded by The Highland
Council and sportscotland, the £975,000
programme will run to 2008. Caithness
will gain two coordinators - one in Wick and
One in Thurso

Preferred Bidder For £100 Million
Clean-up AnnouncedUKAEA has announced the preferred bidder for the largest single
construction project yet during decommissioning Dounreay. Following a
European-wide competitive tendering process, UKAEA has selected the BAND
Alliance to deliver a plant to treat liquid and solid radioactive wastes
that are a legacy of reprocessing fast reactor fuel at Dounreay. The
Alliance consists of prime contractor AMEC and British Nuclear Group
Project Services Ltd, NIS Ltd, DGP International and Weir Strachan &
Henshaw.
Subject to obtaining the necessary regulatory, planning and other
consents, the new plant is expected to cost in the region of £100 million
to design and build. Its primary role will be to condition wastes arising
from the clean-out of underground tanks used to store liquids from the
historical reprocessing of fast reactor fuel. This waste accounts for
almost 80% of the radioactive waste hazard at Dounreay and its treatment
is the highest priority in the site restoration plan.

9 January 2006

Major High At the End Of 2005 For Local Mountaineer
Bob Kerr From Melvich To The Summit Of
Aconcagua - Highest Mountain In South
America
Local mountaineer Bob Kerr (27), from Melvich, has just returned to
northern Scotland following a successful ascent of “Cerro Aconcagua” on
30th December 2005. Aconcagua is the highest
mountain in South America and it is also the highest mountain in the world
outside of Asia. This mountain is almost 23000’ high (6962m) and is
located in the Andes mountain chain in western Argentina. To put the height of Aconcagua into perspective,
Eastern Airways’ Jetstream 41 aircraft fly from Wick at a cruising height
of about 21000’ and these aircraft are pressurised to provide adequate
oxygen to its passengers.
Well done Bob - A very different Hogmanay
Cheers From Caithness.org

Starts Today
Exhibition On Radioactive Particles In The
Environment
Want To Have Your Say On Dealing With the Particles? Find Out More
and How You Can
THURSO – TOWN HALL -
Monday 9th January 2006 (10a.m. – 5p.m.)
Tuesday 10th January 2006 (1 – 8p.m.) (5 – 8p.m. BSL/English Interpreter
available)WICK – ASSEMBLY ROOMS
Wednesday 11th January 2006 (10a.m. – 5p.m.)
Thursday 12th January 2006 (1 – 8p.m.) (5 – 8p.m. BSL/English Interpreter
available)
During 2006 UKAEA wants to consult the public on the options for dealing
with the legacy of radioactive particles in the environment. These
exhibitions are an opportunity for you to find out the work that has been
carried out to date and how you can play your part in helping us choose
the right option.
For more information see Particles In The Marine Environment
Can't make the exhibition or meetings then fill out the online questionnaire to make
your points by 26 January 2006.Dounreay Particles Plan Outlined - BBCDounreay In Big Clean Up Drive - Scotsman

More Postcards - From Maureen MateriMaureen
Materi's collection of postcards reflects the travels of the Miller family
who emigrated to Canada but who made many trips to places in the UK and
abroad. As was often the case they sent many postcards from the
places they visited. Coming soon are more of the places they visited
from various parts of Scotland and the UK as well as places in their
adopted homeland of Canada. Can anyone pinpoint Scorrieclett for us?

Sutherland PostcardThis
postcard shows Brora looking east. The Postcard is from the collection of
Maureen Materi and is postmarked 3 April 1913.

Sutherland PostcardsThis
latest batch of postcards from Alex MacManus is of Sutherland views.
If anyone knows any details about the fire at the Brora Hotel in 1924 we
would like to add this to the picture.Main Post Card
Index

‘Old’ New Year to bring in fresh Highland festival
- Sunday Herald
Highland 2007 festival will be the culmination of a rolling programme of
events that began in 2005 with more being added in 2006. Community
groups have been encouraged to apply for funding to run events in all
years heading to a larger one in 2007. There has been criticism in
some quarters that the events would be too Inverness centred but more and
more events are still being added and there is still time to apply for
funds - See Highland 2007Another
interesting item in the Sunday Herald also - Does the
Celtic heart still beat - the
Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow has grown bigger each
year and perhaps Highland 2007 might move on to greater things.

US student wins right to wear kilt at high school
- Scotsman
It looks as if Nathan Warmack fight to win a change in the school dress
policy and allow him to wear a kilt at formal events has been won.
Nothing has yet appeared on the
Petition web site but no doubt something will appear in due
course. A victory for common sense. This has been one of the
few signs of a gathering of the clans where most folk were in agreement.
We wonder if we might see some other ventures in the future for this
worldwide clan get together to aid causes whether with a Scottish clan
issue or of wider importance. We hope to see Nathan in his full
outfit at some point in the future. Cheers to all at Jackson High,
Missouri.

Legal fund set up for US kilt-wearing student
- Scotsman
Still catching up with items after the New Year this one Nathan Warmack
and his kilt continues the growing saga as the legal eagles get involved.
whether the school in Jackson changes its dress code or not one thing is
for sure the wee town is becoming more and more well known. A few
folk in Missouri may eventually make it to Scotland and perhaps some folk
from here will go and take look at Missouri. We may not have heard
the last of how a kilt started an interest in each others places once
again.
The Online Petition has slowed but is still adding new
names. Maybe a few more folk will be interested to take a look and
sign up - stands at 11,834 at time of posting this item.3.08pm UK time.

Final Name on 1962 North School Photo
This photo has been on the web site since 2001 and at last thanks to
Andrew Mackay we have the last missing name. It just shows that if
you wait long enough the information might turn up. Thanks Andrew
for sending it in. Maybe the fact that the boy won the top 20
records of the day made it stick in your mind.

Whiz Mania Etc - Don't Do ItGame shows, TV Quizes and any other times you are asked to phone
premium rate number. We say don't do it. Think about it the
odds are against you and the profits are guaranteed for the company
running the programme. Aimed at the weak brained the gullible and
anyone home after the pubs have closed they are after your cash.
with an endless talk talk of folk entering they try to include anyone who
phones in. But they are extracting cash from al entrants and most
will never get through to the programme. Think about it.... the
temptation is you will win thousands. You probably won't. but
you might give more money to the company running the comp. End this con.
Do not reply to premium rate TV programmes. Do not be surprised
that new shows have winners they will be few and far between as time goes
on. Don't be tricked out of your cash.

6 January 2006

Exhibition On Radioactive Particles In The
Environment
Want To Have Your Say On Dealing With the Particles? Find Out More
and How You Can
THURSO – TOWN HALL -
Monday 9th January 2006 (10a.m. – 5p.m.)
Tuesday 10th January 2006 (1 – 8p.m.) (5 – 8p.m. BSL/English Interpreter
available)WICK – ASSEMBLY ROOMS
Wednesday 11th January 2006 (10a.m. – 5p.m.)
Thursday 12th January 2006 (1 – 8p.m.) (5 – 8p.m. BSL/English Interpreter
available)
During 2006 UKAEA wants to consult the public on the options for dealing
with the legacy of radioactive particles in the environment. These
exhibitions are an opportunity for you to find out the work that has been
carried out to date and how you can play your part in helping us choose
the right option.
For more information see Particles In The Marine Environment
Can't make the exhibition or meetings then fill out the online questionnaire to make
your points by 26 January 2006.

Caithness.org Breaks The Records Yet
Again In 2005 - Breaks 4 Million Visitor
Barrier
2005 smashed all previous totals for
visitors and hit rates.
Totals for the 12 months to 31 December 2005
were -
Hits 140,009,910 Visitors 4,105,113The increase in visitors and hit rates
has been truly amazing in 2005 as a whole
series of records have been smashed. 2005
trebled the visitor numbers and was over 4.1 million visitors.
The hit rate passed the 100million hits to
end the year on a whopping 140,105,910.
Some interesting figures for the year are -
Page Views in excess of 50 million - Average
Daily Page views in December 146,221 -
Average Daily Caithness Business Index look
ups 17,893 - over half a million in December
alone. There were 58,963 visitors to
the Arts pages in December checking out
119,535 pages. There are over 1500
visitors per day to the Caithness.org
Message Boards for discussions and big
increases in the FREE classified ads where
people in Caithness are selling almost
anything. The Message Boards are now
getting in excess of half a million page
views per month. The new sports
section saw over 4000 visitors in December.
The What's On had 230,708 pages looked at in December.
Caithness.org advertisers will be happy as
banners not only show on the Caithness.org
web sites but on the Sutherland and other
smaller web sites. The stats for these
are not included in the above stats
meaning they get even higher shows.
Note - Revised from earlier today as a part of the stats had not been
included.
As always thanks to all our visitors and to
all of you who have contributed items for
the site in 2005.

Another Collection Of Caithness Postcards
Thanks to David Sutherland for sending in this latest batch of postcards
that he inherited from his mother Doris. Three from Wick and one
with views of Caithness. Really interesting to see what Wick harbour
was like as sail was about to disappear.

Well Maybe One More - Lindsay PlaceHere
is another Christmas Lights photo that we had lost in our email.
This was due to a virus problem we had to fix over the past few days.
In the process some emails were lost so if you sent one in recently and
did not receive a reply or a photo was not acknowledged please resend it.

Kelsey Chalmers Heads For First Day At Nursery In
Fallingbostel, GermanyThis
photos of Kelsey Chalmers ready for her first day at nursery has been sent
in by her dad Chris Chalmers. Chris and his wife Lorraine are both
from Thurso and Kelsey aged 3 was born in Edinburgh. Chris is
currently serving in German with the British Army. They keep a close
eye on Caithness via the web site and sent in a
wedding photo a few years back

Final Christmas Lights Photos - From BroraJust
before we say farewell to the Christmas And New Year Holidays here is
final batch of lights from a house in Brora. We hope you all enjoyed
the Christmas section - the biggest since we began.

More PetsIt
looks like the Pets Corner is likely to grow in 2006 and as Caithness pets
are still coming in. If you would like your pet added to the growing
galleries send a photos to
bill@caithness.orgIf your pet goes missing lets us know the details to
post in the
Missing Pets section.

More Old Wick PostcardsA
few more postcards showing wick views in the 1920's and 30's.
Interestingly one shows a severe flood in 1931 - perhaps something we
should take note of for the future considering last years high water.
Also another view of High Street, Wick that appears to clash with the one
already entered yesterday. Same view in different years but one says
looking north while the latest one says looking west. It is
interesting to note the changes in the two photos but we are unable to say
exactly what year each picture was taken.